MOSCOW, December 11 /TASS/. The presence of US nuclear weapons in Europe and the modernization of this arsenal is creating potential threats and risks and is reducing the threshold for using these weapons, Mikhail Ulyanov, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry department for non-proliferation and arms control, told TASS on Thursday.

"We believe that NATO’s notion of ‘nuclear sharing’ ("joint nuclear missions") contradicts the letter and spirit of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," he said.

Approximately a month ago, the US tested a new universal B61-12 bomb capable of carrying a nuclear charge. The United States is planning to retool its nuclear arsenal deployed in Europe with these bombs by 2020.

"First, it is an NPT violation, which is becoming long-term for decades ahead. Second, potential threats and risks are also going up while the threshold of using nuclear weapons is lowered for objective reasons," Ulyanov said.